Man They Remember

As we jump into this new season, we start talking about our core virtues. We pick up where we left off last week and talk a little more in-depth about what it means to be humble. Does it mean we have to be a door mat? Does it mean we're never aloud to be proud of our accomplishments? Listen in to learn more. 

In today's episode, we're talking about what it means to be a Level 5 man. You might be familiar with the term "Level 5 leader" from Jim Collins' book, "Good to Great." Well, I think the same principle applies to being a man. What are the two characteristics that take a man from being good to great? Well, listen to today's podcast to find out!

We're starting a new direction as a podcast, and today is the first time we're really starting to talk about it. We're always going to be focused on being the kind of men people remember when we're gone, but today we're going to start looking at what it means to raise men and women in our homes who will be the kind of people others remember. We're going to look at how God intended discipleship to happen in the home, and I'm going to share with you how I've failed at this. If it's not too late for me, it's not too late for you either. 

Just like listening seems to be a lost art form, so does focus. We're so used to skimming that we don't read anything deeply. We can't go more than a few minutes without being distracted by our phones. The result is some pretty shallow and insignificant work. What are some simple ways we can improve our focus? Also, Ron joins us on the podcast today and fills us in on his story that started several months ago. You're going to want to hear it! 

What do you do when the definition for masculinity you've been taught and used your whole life no longer works for you? When your idea of manhood leaves you disappointed and empty where do you go? Why is it that men have such a hard time building relationships with other men? In this episode, I have the privilege of talking with Sean Galla, the founder of mensgroup.com, a site that offers many online groups for men to be able to connect with other men for encouragement, discussion, and training. You'll hear how Sean's definition of masculinity left him with a crisis and how he had to dig deeper to find a more meaningful definition. 

Have you ever sent someone a text, only to have them respond with a question you literally just answered in the text you just sent? We scroll through over 300 feet of media per day on social media, not to mention all the other content we are consuming. The result of this overly saturated content culture is that it seems that listening has gone the way of the dinosaur. How important is listening? How do we become better listeners? What do we communicate when we listen? Join Robby and I as we dive into the lost art form of listening. 

Which is more masculine? Working 17 hours a day, driving a jacked-up truck, and drinking all weekend long, or dealing with your emotional insecurities, figuring out your identity, and learning to be a better listener with your wife? On today's podcast, I'm talking with Michael LaRoque, who has 20 years of experience in construction where he earned a nationwide leadership award. He has walked through addiction, mental health, and relationship struggles nearly calling it quits with his wife Laura after 4 years. Today he's encouraging men to take charge of their lives physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually so they can be the man their partner and family need. 

It's one of those words we don't want to talk about. We know we tend to get them out of whack, but we'd rather not mention it. I'll pass on the guilt trip this time, thank you very much. And yet, priorities can be one of those things that keep us from being the kind of man people will remember when we're gone. So, if we want to get to the end of our lives and be able to look back with pride, we need to learn how to put the things that ought to be first, first. 

Last week we talked about humor, this week we are talking about the power of stories. We talk about the stories that are being told all around us every day in various forms of media. But then we take a turn and talk about the stories we tell. Not only are humans story-hungry beings, we are living stories. Unfortunately, as we have seen technology advance, the art of storytelling has diminished. But, do we as men have a responsibility to tell stories? In this episode, I'm joined by my cousin and friend, Brian Dorsey, as we talk about the power of stories. 

Guys love humor. I love humor. Since I was a kid, I have loved comedy and had this dream that I would someday be able to make people laugh. Someday. But, as we get older we laugh less. A lot less. And if the pandemic was successful at anything, it was successful at sucking the humor out of the room. So, in this episode, Robby and I get serious about humor. We talk about some statistics (because nothing makes someone laugh like math), and how men are even expected to be humorous. But, we don't stop there. We actually talk about some easy ways for you to work on being a little more funny. Who knows, there might be a sleeping Seinfeld hibernating deep in your heart. 

Men tend to have a lot of hobbies, everything from working on cars to working in the dirt, playing in the sand to playing on the water, but are hobbies a good thing? Well, in this episode of the podcast we talk about some of the reasons that hobbies tend to be a good thing for most men, especially men who do a lot of mental work. I'm joined today by Jonathan my brother and Jeremy my brother-in-law who both share a hobby that I enjoy - woodworking. If you're a guy that's looking to get started in this hobby, we've got some practical ways to help you get started as well as some honest mistakes we've made along the way. 

You've heard me share my dream for our family. What's your dream? Dreams are great, but if all we have is dreams, they're pretty worthless. Somehow we have to go from having a dream of accomplishing something as epic as raising a clan of kids who still love us when they are adults to actually putting the work that is going to bring that dream to life. In this episode of the Man They Remember podcast we take a look at the core components of a system that will help us accomplish our dreams as men. 

I don't know about you, but I'm a hoarder. No, I don't have used coffee filters buried beneath stacks of newspapers, but I have a lot of junk. Robby on the other hand lives a much simpler lifestyle. He tries not to let stuff bog him down, I have a hard time throwing anything away. Well, this year, I'm trying to simplify my life in simple ways. So, we thought it would be good for us to share what Robby already knows and what I'm learning in case you find yourself holding on to 8 or 9 hammers, because you never know when you're going to lose one of them. 

Do you have anything in your life that you want to change? Have you tried changing it, only to fall flat on your face time and time again? I have. A lot. It's pretty easy for me to start playing the victim and blame all of my shortcomings on someone or something else. The truth is, if we sit and wait for someone to do for us what we can only do for ourselves, we'll be sitting forever. We'll never change. We'll never become better men, better husbands, better fathers, and better friends. Becoming a better man doesn't just happen by accident. As John C. Maxwell once said: "An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance."

Thirty years ago, 55 percent of men said they had at least 6 close friends. Today, that number is 27%. Almost half of what it used to be. While the pandemic certainly exacerbated the problem, this decline has been going on for 3 decades. Research suggests that having a healthy support system is important for mental health, decreasing stress and anxiety as well as our physical health. So, what is going on? Why is it so hard for men to have deep relationships with other men? And maybe the more important question, how do we develop them? 

We've got all kinds of crazy ideas about love in the world around us. If you watch Hallmark movies, you'll think that love is something that only happens when a big city finance guy leaves his high-paying job for the farmer's daughter in a small, rural town. If you watch romantic comedies, you're likely to think that love comes when you meet someone walking over a bridge and someone starts playing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in the background. A lot of modern society views love solely from the lens of how someone or something else makes them feel. But is that actually love? 

Simon Sinek became popular several years ago with his TED talk, "Start With Why." It's a compelling talk and one of the most viewed TED talks of all time. It's a question we have to wrestle with as men if we're going to live lives that leave a legacy in the lives of the people around us when we're gone. So, how do we find the answer to that question? In today's episode, without them even knowing what we were doing, I took Robby and Ron on a bit of a journey to see what there answers to these questions would be. Listen in for help in determining your why. 

It's awful tempting to put all of our attention on the end results. Whether it's at work, in our families or even in our hobbies and recreational pursuits, we're often tempted to focus entirely on the fruit. What do I need to do to earn more money? How do I get my kids to listen to me? I need to build a better chair! We think, if we just focus on the fruit, eventually good fruit will come. But, could it be possible that there's something missing with that approach? Could it be that we need to put our focus on something else entirely in order to have any impact on the end result? 

I think it's safe to say, we've all been going through something recently. Now, I guess there's probably some guy holed up in his mom's basement somewhere who doesn't really know that there's been a pandemic going on for the last couple of years, but other than him, we've all been through some challenging times. How do we handle adversity? What are some key points for getting through the challenges? What do we do when the adversity seems that it will never end. Today, Ron and I talk about just that. Both as it pertains to the pandemic as well as some personal challenges we've been dealing with. 

A few weeks ago, our guest Sovann Pen listed courage as one of the important virtues for men. In today's episode, we talk a little about courage and the role it plays in manhood today. For sure, many of the decisions we need to make as men will require us to have courage. But, maybe the most courageous decision of all could be the decision to live in such a way that fear doesn't control our lives